This study analyses local communities in Caernarfonshire in order to offer new perspectives on Welsh society in the late Victorian and early Edwardian eras. This has been seen as a period of major change in Wales characterised by economic modernisation and national awakening. However, with some notable exceptions, previous research has mainly focused on the industrialised communities of the south Wales coalfield, and the diversity of experiences across Wales has been more often acknowledged than researched.
After setting the subject in a wider historiographical context which highlights the limitations of established narratives and identifies key areas requiring investigation, the thesis devotes a series of chapters to case studies of Caernarfonshire’s urban, maritime and agricultural and industrial communities. The use of specific case studies aims to address the challenge posed by the complex and multilayered nature of communities. Caernarfonshire was geographically diverse and contained communities different in make-up and outlook. Agricultural areas were dominated by a few landowning families distanced by language, religion and politics from the majority of the county’s inhabitants. Fishing and maritime trade provided the economic basis for coastal communities such as Porthmadog, while the growth of the tourist trade in Llandudno gave rise to a different kind of community. The development of the slate industry, much of it by large landowners, transformed the county giving rise to population movement and industrial urbanisation.
The urban communities studied are Caernarfon, Conwy and Pwllheli. The agricultural/maritime settlements analysed are Carnguwch, Tudweiliog, Pistyll and Betws-y-Coed and the industrial areas are upper Llanwnda and the lower part of Llanberis parish. The census returns for 1881 and 1901 form the basis of the analysis and profiling of the chosen communities. These sources, which are as inclusive as it is possible to be, help give a common analytical structure to the examination of the communities. This quantitative analysis is extended and enriched with qualitative evidence by using a wealth of other sources such as court records, council archives, school logbooks, contemporary reminiscences and newspapers which help to humanise the study. This combination of analytical methods facilitates the analysis of the selected communities in Caernarfonshire and how they developed and changed over the period.